The Pavins Side Game Explained

The golf side game named Pavins is named for a golfer who was a famously short driver of the ball. So you can probably guess that this game pays off to golfers who fare well after hitting a short drive.

Pavins works like this: On each hole, the group notes which golfer among them hit the shortest drive. And if that golfer goes on to par the hole, he wins the Pavin. That might mean winning cash from each of the other golfers. Or, if your group is playing for points (perhaps with Pavins as just one game that is part of your larger Dot Game/Junk/Trash), then the golfer who won the Pavin on the hole earns a point.

To recap: Hit the shortest drive on a hole and then make par, win the Pavin cash or points. One variation: Hit the shortest drive and then birdie, double the amount; hit the shortest drive and then eagle, triple the amount.

If you were a fan of golf in the 1980s to the early 2000s, or if you simply know your golf history, then you probably already know that Pavins is named for Corey Pavin. (Previous generations might have played this game under the name Runyans, for Paul Runyan. Future generations will play it under a new name, whichever short hitter of the era becomes the most famous.)

Corey Pavin typically ranked near the bottom, or even, in some years, dead last in driving distance on the PGA Tour. Yet he still managed to carve out a superb career. From 1984 through 2006, he won 15 times on the PGA Tour. And that included one major, the 1995 U.S. Open.

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